Developers in the house! Have you ever tried hosting NodeJS applications on Cloudways before? Are you currently hosting any? If yes, what how you like for us to improve?
Hey everyone!
If you’ve been using Cloudways for your WordPress, Laravel, or Magento sites but had to go elsewhere to host your Node.js apps, that boundary is officially gone.
We just launched Managed Node.js Hosting in Private Preview.
Cloudways Managed Node.js Hosting is a fully managed hosting environment built natively for Node.js applications. It runs on the Cloudways Lightning Stack on DigitalOcean infrastructure and brings together persistent servers, developer-native tooling, and enterprise-grade security under one managed platform.
This is not a workaround or a generic server with Node.js bolted on. It is a first-class Node.js experience built from the ground up with dedicated UI, Git-based deployment, process management, environment variable handling, framework presets, and more. The idea is to build a product that offers everything a modern Node.js developer or team needs, without them having to touch a server configuration.
Cloudways Managed Node.js Hosting is currently in Private Preview. There is no charge* during the promotional Private Preview or the upcoming Public Preview period (terms apply). Pricing starts from $21/month at General Availability.
Cloudways Managed Node.js Hosting is currently invite-only because we want the right people early. We are onboarding developers, agencies, AI builders, and founders in stages.
If you are building with Node.js and want to be among the first to experience the platform, join the waitlist. We will reach out directly with your invitation to the Private Preview.
Join the waitlist: https://www.cloudways.com/en/managed-nodejs-hosting.php
This private preview marks the beginning of Cloudways’ commitment to giving Node.js developers, AI builders, and everyone in between, a highly tailored environment for hosting apps and building meaningful products.
The Node.js ecosystem has grown into one of the most widely used runtimes in the world that powers everything from lightweight APIs to full-stack SSR applications to the backend orchestration layers behind modern AI products. Our Node.js hosting infrastructure offers persistent infrastructure, enterprise-grade security, developer-native tooling, and a managed experience that gets out of your way.
We imagined Cloudways Managed Node.js Hosting as the platform where you spend your time building, not managing servers. The private preview is the first step. General Availability, with broader cloud provider support, CI/CD pipelines, multi-region deployments, and more is on the way.
Are you planning on migrating any Node workloads over, or spinning up a hybrid PHP/Node setup? Let us know what you're building in the comments!
We get this question a lot in here, so here's a clear guide on choosing between the two stacks. Everything below is based on Cloudways' official documentation and benchmarks.
First, what they actually are
The Hybrid Stack is the older setup — a mix of NGINX + Apache. Apache is what lets it read .htaccess files, so it supports granular, file-based server rules and Apache-specific modules. It's still the default for new applications. Trade-off: Apache adds overhead, so you get slightly lower performance and more complexity.
The Lightning Stack is the newer, fully NGINX + PHP-FPM architecture. Apache is removed entirely. NGINX uses an event-driven model that handles concurrent requests more efficiently than Apache's process-based approach, which means faster request processing, lower latency, and better resource use under load. The catch: NGINX doesn't natively support .htaccess. It's available at no extra cost, and switching doesn't cause downtime.
When to use the Lightning Stack
This is the better choice for most modern, dynamic sites. Reach for it when:
.htaccess needs are simple — 301/302 redirects, URL rewrites, header rules. These are now handled through Web Rules, a UI-based feature in the platform. Per Cloudways' analysis of 100,000+ sites, Web Rules covers roughly 80–90% of common .htaccess use cases (they found ~51% are simple redirects/rewrites/headers NGINX handles easily).The benchmark gains (independently tested by Koddr[dot]io, commissioned by Cloudways) are strongest in write-heavy, uncached workloads:
Worth noting: for fully cached, mostly static pages, the two stacks perform similarly, Lightning's edge shows up when caching is bypassed.
When to stay on (or use) the Hybrid Stack
Hybrid is the right call when your site genuinely depends on Apache. Stay on it if:
.htaccess logic that Web Rules can't yet replicate. Cloudways found ~36% of the remaining cases had single conditional rules and the rest had complex/multi-conditional logic they couldn't reliably translate..htaccess files.Important: .htaccess files are not compatible with NGINX. If you switch to Lightning, you'll need to manually recreate your redirects, rewrites, and headers in Web Rules. Nothing carries over automatically.
A few practical notes if you're switching
TL;DR
Dynamic/transactional site + simple redirects → Lightning.
Site that leans on complex .htaccess rules or Apache modules → Hybrid (or move to Lightning after rebuilding those rules in Web Rules).
Test on staging either way. Hope this helps, folks!
We see some people obsessed with hitting a 100/100 mobile score on Lighthouse and others may still think that it's a vanity metric and not as important for actual business. But we also see messy, slow sites making lots in revenue. What are your views?
Talking about recent news, in a major regulatory breakthrough on June 25, 2026, the European Commission announced its preliminary position designating AWS and Microsoft Azure as "gatekeepers" under the Digital Markets Act (DMA). The EU cites massive customer lock-in, high switching costs, and the aggressive bundling of AI tools as anti-competitive. This ruling could force both hyperscalers to drastically lower data egress fees and make cross-cloud migrations much easier for businesses.
Application-level issues are one of the biggest causes of website downtime. A single 5xx error can lead to lost traffic, missed conversions, and frustrated customers.
The challenge is that finding the root cause often takes hours of digging through logs, checking configurations, or reaching out to support. That's why we've added 5xx Application Error Detection & Troubleshooting to Cloudways Copilot.
Cloudways Copilot now monitors your WordPress and WooCommerce applications in addition to your servers. When a 5xx error is detected, Cloudways Copilot automatically investigates the issue, identifies the likely root cause, and delivers an Insight with recommended next steps.
What Cloudways Copilot Does
The goal is simple: spend less time troubleshooting and more time running your websites.
We're excited to hear your feedback. What other application-level issues would you like Cloudways Copilot to detect and troubleshoot next? Let us know below!
These days, hosting conversations often turn into cloud debates about AWS vs GCP vs DigitalOcean etc. But outside of the massive scale, the choice isn’t always obvious.
I’m curious: What drives your cloud choice today?
Hey r/CloudwaysbyDO people!
If you run a web agency, freelance business, or manage multiple client sites, we know that trying to scale often means sacrificing your own free time or eating into your margins by hiring more staff.
To help you break out of that cycle, we are hosting a massive, free online event: The Next Gen Agency, happening on June 30th and July 1st, 2026.
What is this event?
This is a two-day virtual summit bringing together over 20 top agency leaders and AI professionals. We are skipping the fluffy, high-level theories and focusing strictly on real strategies, proven playbooks, and operator-level insights built specifically for growing agencies. It features over 8 power-packed sessions, networking rooms, and expert-led roundtables.
Why you should attend
The agency model is evolving incredibly fast, and those who adapt to AI-first workflows will outpace those still operating like it's 2015. Here is exactly what you will walk away with:
Win Cloudways credits!
This won't be a passive webinar where you just listen to someone talk. It is highly interactive, featuring very fun live challenges, leaderboards, and opportunities to win Cloudways credits and gift cards. 🎁
Furthermore, our Cloudways product leaders, Suhaib Zaheer and Ali Ahmed, will be hosting a special panel to reveal upcoming innovations and product investments specifically designed to help agencies on our platform scale faster.
How to join
The event is completely free! Register here: https://www.cloudways.com/en/agency-advantage.php
Let's discuss
How much of your daily agency workflow have you managed to automate so far? Are you currently using any AI agents for client delivery, or are you still doing the heavy lifting manually?
Hey r/CloudwaysbyDO ,
If you are not already running an active Cloudways Cloudflare Enterprise add-on subscription, I have an announcement for you.
Cloudways now offers a 30-day free trial of the Cloudflare Enterprise Add-on available across as many domains as you want.*
What’s included in the free trial
Here is how you can activate the free trial
Go to Cloudways Platform → Integrations → Cloudflare Enterprise, and enable it on your domain in just a few clicks.
You can cancel anytime.
*Valid for domains not already running an active Cloudways Cloudflare Enterprise add-on subscription.
Statistics show most WordPress sites still run on Classic themes. With the 2025 updates to block loading for classic themes, is there still a performance reason to switch to Full Site Editing, or has the gap been closed? What do you all think?
In 2026, Google's algorithms have evolved to be even more sensitive to user experience. While you're optimizing images, the real bottleneck is often TTFB: the time it takes for your server to respond to a request.
According to the 2026 Trends Report, 55% of customers choose a host based on speed. TTFB is the foundation of that speed.
Using a CDN is great, but if your origin server is slow, the CDN can only do so much. A host with edge caching (like Cloudways' Cloudflare Enterprise add-on) reduces TTFB by caching content closer to the user.
For WooCommerce, you can't cache everything. High-performance stacks (PHP 8.3+, MariaDB) are required to process those requests instantly.
What are you doing currently to increase page load times and make sure you're supportiing, not hindering the SEO team's work?
Sometimes automating everything may feel less personal but manual invoicing has error margins and is difficult to execute if you have more clients.
For high-ticket clients, do you all still do a personal touch in something as basic as invoices or are you using automated portals?
In 2026, Google's algorithms have evolved to be even more sensitive to user experience. While you're optimizing images, the real bottleneck is often TTFB: the time it takes for your server to respond to a request.
According to the 2026 Trends Report, 55% of customers choose a host based on speed. TTFB is the foundation of that speed.
Using a CDN is great, but if your origin server is slow, the CDN can only do so much. A host with edge caching (like Cloudways' Cloudflare Enterprise add-on) reduces TTFB by caching content closer to the user.
For WooCommerce, you can't cache everything. High-performance stacks (PHP 8.3+, MariaDB) are required to process those requests instantly.
Cloudways addresses this via an optimized stack and MAX Cache. By serving cached pages without even calling PHP, we've seen load times drop into the 200ms range globally. Don't let your server latency be the reason you rank on page 2!
What are you doing currently to increase page load times and make sure you're supportiing, not hindering the SEO team's work?
Hey community, we are planning to host monthly AMAs with folks from the Cloudways team, the broader hosting community, and anyone who can help us all learn.
Who would you like to see in these AMAs? What topics should we focus on? Let us know!
Hey everyone, a few weeks back, a couple of users in this sub shared an interest in having a custom Cloudways dashboard. The 2026 hosting trends report also shows that 46% of users are "very interested" in a unified dashboard for management, billing, and analytics.
So here's the question: do you really want everything in one place (at the risk of a single point of failure), or do you prefer specialized tools for each task? What's your current tool sprawl looking like? This will be an important insight for us so kindly answer. Thank you!
What is the feature you are liking the best and using the most in WP 7.0 and why?
When you're picking a cloud provider to run on, do you care about the name under the hood or is it all about the UI and the support of the management platform? Does a client ever ask you where their site is physically located so do they simply care about performance?